Why Americans Are So Passionate About Guns

Guns are more controversial in America than abortion, marijuana, and same-sex marriage. Many of the opinions surrounding guns come from what we hear and see through the media. And yet, our passions about weapons reflect deeper psychological values. We talk about the emotion of gun culture with Katherine White, Professor of Psychology at Kennesaw State University. And we discuss how the media plays its part in perpetuating stereotypes, or even violence, with Ben Hallman, Deputy Editor for The Trace, a nonprofit journalism outlet focused on gun reporting.

There are many different definitions as to what constitutes a mass shooting. Depending on what definition you look at, there was anywhere from six to 383 mass shootings in 2016 in the United States.

Mother Jones, a nonprofit news magazine, found that six mass shootings occurred in the United States in 2016, none of which happened in Georgia. According to the FBI, there were 20 mass shootings in 2016, and according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive there were 383 – 17 of which occurred in Georgia.

The National Rifle Association held its annual meeting in Atlanta over the weekend. President Donald Trump headlined the event with a speech. Senior producer Emily Cureton was in the crowd, and she brings us this audio postcard.

There's a wall-long mural in the manufacturing area of SilencerCo, in West Valley City, Utah, that shows a crowd of people with muzzled mouths. One's holding a sign that says, "Fight the Noise." Another says: "Guns don't have to be loud."

As a leading manufacturer and seller of gun silencers — or suppressors, as they're more accurately called — SilencerCo wants to quiet guns. Congress may soon help in the effort.